Anthrax attack suspect dies in apparent suicide

A senior US government scientist who helped investigate a series of deadly anthrax attacks in 2001 has died from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to charge him with carrying out the attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.

The newspaper, quoting people familiar with the man, his suspicious death and the FBI investigation, identified him as Bruce Ivins, 62, and said he had worked for the last 18 years at government bio-defense research laboratories near Washington DC, in Maryland.

CNN said the Justice Department had been "seriously considering" filing charges against Ivins when he died. The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

The LA Times said Ivins had been informed of his impending prosecution shortly before his death on Tuesday after swallowing a massive dose of painkillers. Maryland authorities have not yet officially declared the cause of death.

Suspicions

In 2002, federal law enforcement officials, including Attorney General John Ashcroft, called Hatfill a "person of interest" in the investigation. Hatfill then sued various Justice Department officials, including Ashcroft.

FBI director Robert Mueller recently said the agency was making "great progress" in the investigation and it was "in no way dormant."

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Marines from the Chemical and Biological Response Force are decontaminated after testing for anthrax (Image: Sipa Press / Rex Features)